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Da die Stunde kam, [daß]1 ich Abschied nahm, Sah ich nicht den wunderschönen Mai: Hab' nur eins gewußt, als ich wandern mußt', Daß von dir, von dir ich ferne sei. Sang und Blüthenduft [schweben]2 durch die Luft, Doch an mir [flog]3 alle Lust vorbei: Hab nur eins gewußt, als ich wandern mußt', Daß von dir, von dir ich ferne sei. Nun ich wiederkehr', fühl' ich nimmermehr, [Daß]4 die Geißel schon der Winter schwingt, Denn ich weiß es ja, daß die Stunde nah, Die zu dir, zu dir mich wiederbringt. Wenn mich wild umziehn Sturmes Melodien, Wie ein Maisang mir die Luft erklingt, Denn ich weiß es ja, daß die Stunde nah, Die zu dir, zu dir mich wiederbringt.
R. Franz sets stanzas 1-3
O. Dresel sets stanzas 1-3
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesConfirmed with Gedichte von Wilhelm Osterwald, Dritte umgearbeitete und vermehrte Auflage, Leipzig, Verlag von F. G. C. Leuckart (Constantin Sander), 1873, no title, page 109. In later editions, the poem was given the title "Wiederkehr"
1 Dresel: "Als"2 Franz: "schwebten"
3 Franz: "zog"
4 Franz: "Ob"
Text Authorship:
- by (Karl) Wilhelm Osterwald (1820 - 1887), "Wiederkehr", appears in Gedichte, in 1. Erstes Buch: Lieder, no. 99, first published 1848 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Franz Wilhelm Abt (1819 - 1885), "Wiederkehr", op. 161 (Fünf Gesänge für vier Männerstimmen) no. 5, published 1858 [ vocal quartet for male voices ], Leipzig, Siegel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Bohm (1844 - 1920), "Da die Stunde kam", op. 292 (Zwei Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 2, published 1883 [ voice and piano ], Breslau, Hainauer [sung text not yet checked]
- by Erich Brandt , "Da die Stunde kam", op. 1 (Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte) no. 3, published 1891 [ voice and piano ], Wien, Gutmann [sung text not yet checked]
- by Otto Dresel (1826 - 1890), "Wiederkehr", 1848, stanzas 1-3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Robert Franz (1815 - 1892), "Da die Stunde kam", op. 7 (Sechs Gesänge) no. 3, published 1846, stanzas 1-3 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Whistling [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Emile Gibara , "Da die Stunde kam", published 1894 [ voice and piano ], from [Acht] Lieder und Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung, no. 7, Wien, Gutmann [sung text not yet checked]
- by Benjamin Hamma (1831 - 1911), "Da die Stunde kam, dass ich Abschied nahm", op. 19 (Sieben Lieder im Volkstone für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 5, published 1884 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, G. Lichtenberger [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Isenmann (1839 - 1889), "Wiederkehr", op. 66 (Fünf Männerchöre im Volkston) no. 1, published 1884 [ four-part men's chorus a cappella ], Leipzig, Forberg [sung text not yet checked]
- by Johannes Pache (1857 - 1897), "Da die Stunde kam, dass ich Abschied nahm", op. 69 no. 1, published 1888 [ voice and piano ], Leipzig, Hug [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Leopold Roeckel (1838 - 1923), "Da die Stunde kam, dass ich Abschied nahm", published 1896 [ voice and piano ], from Sechs Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte, no. 4, Magdeburg, Heinrichshofen Verl. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carl Schmeidler , "Da die Stunde kam, dass ich Abschied nahm", op. 27 (Zwei Lieder für Sopran (oder Tenor) mit Harmonium (oder Pianoforte)) no. 2, published 1897 [ soprano or tenor and harmonium or piano ], Berlin, Simon [sung text not yet checked]
- by Willy Viol (b. 1848), "Lied im Volkston", op. 6 (Sechs Gesänge für 1 Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung) no. 6, published 1880 [ voice and piano ], Berlin, Sulzbach [sung text not yet checked]
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Johann Winkler
This text was added to the website: 2008-04-07
Line count: 16
Word count: 122
When the hour came [that]1 I took farewell, I did not see the wondrously beautiful May: I knew only one thing when I had to go wandering, That I would be far away from you, from you. Singing and blossom-scent [waft]2 through the air, But all the beauty passed me [in swift flight]3: I knew only one thing, when I had to go wandering, That I would be far away from you, from you. Now that I am returning, I nevermore feel [That]4 winter is already brandishing its whip, For I know that the hour is near That brings me back to you, to you. When the melodies of the storm circle me wildly, The air resounds like a song in Maytime, For I know that the hour is near That brings me back to you, to you.
About the headline (FAQ)
View text without footnotesTranslations of titles:
"Da die Stunde kam" = "When the hour came"
"Da die Stunde kam, dass ich Abschied nahm" = "When the hour came that I took farewell"
"Lied im Volkston" = "Song in a folk-like manner"
"Wiederkehr" = "Return"
2 Franz: "wafted"
3 Franz: "by"
4 Franz: "though"
Text Authorship:
- Translation from German (Deutsch) to English copyright © 2026 by Sharon Krebs, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by (Karl) Wilhelm Osterwald (1820 - 1887), "Wiederkehr", appears in Gedichte, in 1. Erstes Buch: Lieder, no. 99, first published 1848
This text was added to the website: 2026-04-20
Line count: 16
Word count: 142